David Watford wants to be himself during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ mini-camp.
The 24-year-old quarterback knows that if he’s to make an impression on the Roughriders’ coaches, he can’t be trying to do impressions of the CFL team’s other quarterbacks.
“I just have to play my game, have fun and do the things that I do well,” Watford said from his home in Hampton, Va. “I’m not Marquise (Williams), I’m not Brandon (Bridge) and I’m not Zach (Collaros). I’m David and I can only do what David does and do it to the best of my ability. That got me this far and I feel like it’ll help me out at this camp.”
Saskatchewan’s mini-camp is set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Bradenton, Fla. The four quarterbacks currently under contract to the Roughriders — Bridge, Collaros, Watford and Williams — are to attend, and they could be joined by other QBs whom the coaches want to see.
Watford finished the 2017 season as the fourth man on the Roughriders’ quarterbacking depth chart, meaning this mini-camp may be his chance to take a step forward. That will require him to “do what David does” — which is what, exactly?
“I can use my athletic ability to run around with the ball if I have to, but I like to sit back there (in the pocket) and get the ball to the weapons we have,” said Watford, a 6-foot-2, 212-pounder.
Courtesy of University of Virginia
“I try to use my arm to the best of my ability to get the ball to those guys and let them make me look good. That’s what I want to do.”
Watford began his college career at the University of Virginia in 2011. He played 26 games for the Cavaliers in his career, completing 277 of 505 pass attempts for 2,593 yards with 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
He transferred to Hampton University in 2015 and appeared in 10 games, going 167-for-315 passing for 2,088 yards with 21 TDs and 14 picks. He also rushed for 182 yards and three scores.
In 2016, Watford’s road to pro football began when he was invited to attend the mini-camp of a CFL team. Ironically, that club was the Roughriders.
“It was all new to me as far as the Canadian style of play, but I felt like it went really well,” Watford said. “It was a good learning experience for me. I was open to trying to do as much learning as possible and get as used to the game as I could in that span of three days.”
The NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles subsequently called and asked Watford to attend their rookie mini-camp as a free agent. He went to that camp, was moved to receiver, was invited back to training camp and was signed to the practice roster for the 2016 campaign.
He played in three pre-season games for the Eagles in 2017 before being released. On Oct. 9, the Roughriders signed him to their practice roster — and he returned to his natural position of quarterback.
Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles
“I wouldn’t say (being a receiver) made me want to get back to playing quarterback because when I was playing receiver, I really embraced it,” said Watford, who had four receptions for 24 yards for Philly in the 2017 pre-season. “I embraced the grind. I embraced the struggle of learning. I embraced being behind the 8-ball and working my butt off to try to learn as much as possible as fast as possible.
“But in the back of my mind, I always felt that my ability to play quarterback was still there and was never going to leave. If the opportunity came when I could get back in the saddle and play quarterback again, I wouldn’t pass on it. The timing was right and so I jumped on it as soon as Coach (Chris) Jones called me.”
Watford spent the final four weeks of the 2017 regular season on the Roughriders’ practice roster, readjusting to life as a quarterback — even though he was working on the larger CFL field.
His time in Philadelphia had given him a better understanding of where to put passes to make a receiver’s life easier and how to put touch on certain throws. It helped in other ways as well.
“It gave me a new appreciation for anybody who has ever played receiver for me and everything they did for me,” Watford said with a chuckle.
“Playing receiver teaches you a lot about body control and how to be cognizant of how you’re moving, what you’re doing and being as efficient as possible with it. Playing receiver really gave me that perspective and helped me work on that, which was one thing I always wanted to work on as a quarterback.”
Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles
In late March, Watford and the Roughriders’ other pivots joined the team’s offensive coaches in South Pittsburg, Tenn. — Jones’ hometown — to work on things for a few days. That whetted Watford’s appetite for mini-camp, training camp and the 2018 season.
Starting Tuesday, he’ll try to keep making his case for a roster spot.
“You’re always being evaluated, so you do want to make a good impression on the coaches,” Watford said. “But I don’t see it as a pressure type of situation because it’s football.
“Football shouldn’t be a pressure situation for anybody, especially if you love the game and you put a lot of hard work and time into it. Now you get to showcase what you’ve been doing all off-season. It should just be fun.”
- The CFL announced Friday that all nine of its teams were under the $5.15-million salary cap in 2017. The cap for 2018 is to be $5.2 million.
